American Idol auditionee stuns judges with A-list revelation

A schoolgirl has stunned the American Idol judging panel as she dropped her A-list connection during her audition for the TV talent series.

A schoolgirl has stunned the American Idol judging panel with her A-list connection during her audition for the talent series.

Grace, 15, from Michigan stepped in front of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan for her televised audition, where she casually revealed she was the granddaughter of music royalty.

“My grandma is Aretha Franklin,” she said of the legendary ‘Queen of Soul’, who died in 2018 aged 76.

“I was really close to my grandma. I got to see her all the time, I used to travel with her a lot.

“I don’t think I could fully grasp the fact that she was known worldwide, because to me she was always just grandma. I feel like people expect me to sing exactly like her but I am my own artist and I have my own voice.”

Grace Franklin auditioned for American Idol.

Grace’s grandmother, Aretha Franklin, died in 2018. Picture: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Richie, 72, shared his own personal stories about his time working with Franklin, before Perry asked Grace if it was true she “kept a little pistol in her purse?”.

Grace said the rumour wasn’t true, but she always had a purse with her for “the money”.

Proceeding to her audition, Grace sang Lauryn Hill’s version of Killing Me Softly but failed to impress the judges, who asked her to sing another song for them.

Grace paid tribute to her grandma by performing her song, Ain’t No Way.

Bryan and Richie voted ‘No’, while Perry went into bat for Grace to go through to the next round.

Katy voted ‘Yes’ for Grace to proceed to the next round.

“I think you have stardust and sparkle all over you,” the Firework singer said. “You are beautiful, and if you’ll trust us, if you’ll listen to us, if you’ll put in the work, I think we can find that next level with you.”

But Richie felt Grace needed to hone her craft and return when she was ready.

Grace Franklin auditioned for American Idol.

“I think the best thing for you in life is to take a shot at going backwards. Go back and get a running start and come back at this again,” Richie said.

Perry, 37, was furious at her colleague, screaming: “Give her a shot! Give her a chance! I’m sure Aretha wasn’t Aretha when she walked into the room, but somebody said, ‘Yes, I want to work with you. I want to develop you.’”

She then stormed off set joking that she was “quitting and going to the bar”, while Richie gave the teen a hug and encouraged her to audition again next time.